Rediscovering My Life After Moving Back to Detroit
How I’m learning to be present, explore my city, and find joy in this new chapter of life
One of my favorite parts of this move has been looking at the city I used to live in with adult eyes.
Being that I wasn’t fully raised in Detroit, I don’t fully consider Detroit my home. But since moving back, I’ve prioritized not compromising on the things I’ve grown to love about my life in Atlanta.
Living in Midtown Atlanta gave me the opportunity to walk and explore any day, any time. Just because where I live now is different doesn’t mean I wanted to stop doing that.
I think one thing that has made me start to appreciate this move more was changing my focus. Instead of focusing on the things I can no longer do, I started focusing on the things I can do.
Things like dilly dallying around a kind of new city.
Visiting my parents.
Driving to my nana’s house.
Showing up to the smaller family events I typically couldn’t fly in for.
Getting back to traveling now that I have a steady income, whether it’s for a weekend or even just a day.
I love the days when I’m able to wake up and just go. Without an itinerary. Without knowing exactly where I’m going. Just putting on my walking shoes and seeing where the day takes me.
One thing I love about myself is my openness to explore and try new things. Since moving, I’ve tried different things and found myself in places I probably wouldn’t have gone if I had spent all my time thinking about what I was missing. And honestly, that’s been one of the biggest surprises of this move.
I’m a city girl at heart
I love major cities like New York and Chicago. Why? Because I’m a city girl who loves the skylines, the noises, the lights, the city magic.
But I also love major cities because of the walkability. The ability to leave your house for coffee in the morning, be out all day, and come back home after having coffee, walking through beautiful scenery, eating lunch, light shopping, having cocktails, and maybe even stumbling into some type of event.
Being able to see where the day takes you just by walking out your door, without having to drive everywhere, is something I learned I truly loved about Atlanta.
So I had to keep the tradition alive. Whether I’m alone, with Saint, or with friends, dilly dallying has truly become a key to keeping me sane.
Since moving to Detroit, I’ve stumbled into a golf session, vintage designer pop up shops, beautiful hotel bars, tons of restaurants, outdoor workout classes, adult skating with a bar, movies outside at the park, a breathtaking bouquet at Eastern Market, and so much more.
Going with the flow and staying open has led me to experience some amazing things while being in Detroit.
I think sometimes we miss out on what’s right in front of us because we’ve already decided what a place, season, or experience is supposed to look like. I didn’t want to do that here.
Getting To Know Detroit Differently
I’m so glad I decided to live downtown. I love taking the People Mover. It makes me appreciate the city from new heights, and honestly, it gives me a little feeling like I’m in NYC.
Even though Detroit’s downtown isn’t the largest, there are so many different pockets throughout the city, and there’s actually a lot to do.
One thing Detroit has that Atlanta doesn’t is the water, and I actually love that much more than I expected to.
When I first moved, I was so focused on the fact that once summer ended, it would be freezing. I kept thinking about how sad I was going to be once daylight saving time came around and it was freezing and gloomy outside. I realized something: the snow is coming. It’s inevitable. What is focusing on it going to do?
I was talking to my friend about this, and he told me his pastor had preached about being present. He said you can’t wear a winter jacket in the summer. You have to focus on the season you’re in because winter will come. That doesn’t mean you don’t prepare for future seasons. But you have to be present.
I think that’s what I’ve been learning to do.
Bloom Where You Are Planted
I was going through my previous reminders in my phone and clearing them out, I came across a quote I had saved from August 13, 2024, it said, “Bloom where you are planted. Explore that.”
It’s so crazy that I saw that reminder in August 2026 because my life has completely changed, but I finally understand what it means. “Be where your feet are” is a popular quote, but I’ve learned that, for me, it simply means taking life day by day.
It sounds easier said than done, but I attribute a lot of my happiness lately to learning how to be present.
I don’t have to know exactly what winter is going to look like.
I don’t have to know exactly how long I’ll be here.
I don’t have to recreate the life I had in Atlanta. I can just enjoy the life I’m living right now. That’s another lesson of this move. Sometimes rediscovering your life doesn’t mean finding your old life again. It means being open enough to discover a version of yourself you didn’t know existed.
So I challenge you to do something different one day this week.
Go on a walk, but take a new path.
Read a book in the park.
Try a new coffee shop.
Take yourself somewhere you’ve never been.
Spend some time getting to know the parts of yourself you didn’t know you would like.
You might be surprised by what you find.
